Anthony Westbury: New wheels sure beat the feet

Sgt. Robert Hasse, with the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office, and Jerome Brend talk about the donation of a bicycle to Brend's daughter, Alexis. Because they live just yards too close to school, Alexis must walk to school.

Alexis Brend, 7, rides her bike Wednesday while her father, Jerome, left, and St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Sgt, Bob Hasse watch. Brend and her father each received a bike after state Rep. Adam Fetterman heard of the Brends’ walk to her school each morning.

JUAN DALE BROWN * juan.dale.brown@scripps.com

Alexis, 7, took one look at the gleaming teal bicycle with sparkling white tires and couldn't hold herself back any longer. She leaped aboard and careened down a pathway in front of the St. Lucie County Jail, not entirely sure how she was going to stop.

Her father, Jerome Brend, looked on with an indulgent smile.

It's been quite a journey for Jerome and Alexis. He wrote to me a few weeks back about how his daughter couldn't ride a school bus because their home on Avenue L in northwest Fort Pierce is closer than 2 miles from the Magnet School for the Arts on Delaware Avenue.

Brend can't afford to keep a car on the road, the bus has become too expensive for them both to use every day, and so father and daughter are forced to make the journey on foot through some pretty crime-infested parts of the city.

On Wednesday, the Brends met outside the jail to receive two bicycles donated by the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Department.

State Rep. Adam Fetterman had read about the Brends' dilemma and decided to put the pedal to the metal.

"I'm a cyclist," Fetterman said, " and that's the first thing I thought of. If we could get them some bikes, they wouldn't need to walk or pay for the bus."

Fetterman's office contacted Sgt. Robert Hasse of the Sheriff's Inmate Work Farm program. Inmates at the farm also work on fixing up bicycles that will be donated to needy kids through radio station WPSL's Christmas Kids program.

And a beautiful job they do with old, discarded and seized bicycles.

While Alexis' bike looked almost brand-new, her father also received a reconditioned gunmetal-colored mountain bike, and a large chain to keep both bikes safe.

Other readers also wanted to help.

Many offered Alexis money or free rides. Ann of Fort Pierce (no last name given), a retired school bus driver, and Arnold Pettway, a school resource officer who works in Martin County, stepped up to the plate and split the cost of a month-long bus pass.

Chief Sean Baldwin of the Fort Pierce Police Department, Brend said, is also working to add a crossing guard at the busiest intersection they have to cross every day at Orange Avenue and 10th Street.

Brend also researched other Florida cities that offer student discounts on mass transit buses. Unfortunately, that's not possible here, according to Darrell Drummond, president and CEO of Council on Aging of St. Lucie Inc., which operates the Community Transit buses here.

Drummond said he's prevented by state law from directly competing with the school district bus system.

"If we could, we'd love to be able to help," Drummond said.

We often hear how St. Lucie County is known for its collaboration and cooperation; Jerome and Alexis's story proves that.

And those enormous smiles on Alexis' face Wednesday morning when she finally got her bike made the community effort all the sweeter.

A huge thank you to everyone involved.

Anthony Westbury is a columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers. This column reflects his opinion. For more on St. Lucie County topics, follow his blog at tcpalm.com/westbury. Contact him at (772) 409-1320 or anthony.westbury@scripps.com.